Folding table leg and latch bracket structure



M 1954 c. o. LARSON 2,677,583

FOLDING TABLE LEG AND LATCH BRACKET STRUCTURE Filed April 13, 1951 Patented May 4 I954 Charles 0. Larson, Sterling, Ill.

Application April 13, 1951, Serial No. 220,879

2 Claims. ll

This invention relates to brackets or hinge structures for pivotally and foldably mounting legs to the under surfaces of a table or support having a planar surface.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel bracket or hinge construction, whereby legs be ioldably secured to a table top so that they may be swung from an open ver tical position to a folded position parallel with the table top and will be held in either of said positions by engagement of the leg with the table top and/or a wall of the bracket without need for any additional fastening means.

Another object of the present invention is to provide in a table construction a simple device for foldably mounting legs to the table top which device includes a slotted socket member secured to the table and a pin extending from the legs with said slot being so constructed and the pin being so positioned that the le may be swung legs to a table top, which device includes a socket member having opposed sides and an end wall, said opposed sid s having aligned slots with angularly dis or d portions a pin extending from the into the slots, with the slots being so constructed the pin being so positioned that leg "nay be swung from an open vertical position with its top edge abutting the lower surface of a table top to a folded position with an elongated side of the leg parallel with and abutting the table top and an upper end of "the leg abutt. the end wall of the bracket, whereby the leg is prevented from swinging or pivoting irons. either of said positions without need for any other holding means.

Another object of the invention resides in providing the cross pin carried by the leg with clamping means whereby if desired to provide additional means for holding the leg either in extended position at right angles to the table top for supporting the table in open position or wherein the leg or legs may be held in folded posh tion parallel to and adjacent the under side of the table.

These and other objects of the invention will be apparent on perusal of the following specification when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the invention as applied to a folding leg table showing the leg in open position;

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2--2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the two plates forming the leg socket for the table;

Fig. l is a side view showing the leg in folded position with its side against the under side of the table;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing the leg moved downwardly away from the table preparatory to swinging at an angle of 90 degrees to open position;

Fig. 6 is a successive view showing the leg swung to a 90 degree open position;

Fig. 7 is still another successive view showing the leg moved upwardly with the upper surface of the leg abutting or substantially abutting the under side of the table; and

Figs. 8 and 9 are successive views of a modification of the invention.

Referring now to the invention in general, the invention herein comprises preferably, but not exclusively, a socket member which may be attached to the under side of a table top 2, or in fact any other top, and at the corner thereof as shown in Fig. 1. There are four of these socket members for the four corners of the table. As shown in det il in Fig. 3, the socket is preferably formed of two plate-like sheets of metal or other desired material, and comprises a fiat plate-like member t having a right angled extending flange '1 at one edge thereofand a separate flange 8 extending at right angles to the plane of the plate t but along a different side or along a side that is at right angles to the flange 6. The opposite plate ill is similarly provided with a flange i 2 corresponding to the flange 6 and a flange i l cor responding to the flange ii. The flanges E and are provided. with nail or screw holes it and iii and 2t! and 22 whereby these plate like halves when in assenihhd position as shown in Fig. l

with the edges i i and 25 of the flanges t and i i it which is of rectangular conformation and fits snugly within said socket. As shown in Fig. 2, in the open position of the leg, its upper surface 30 is adapted to contact preferably the under side of the table top 2 thereby providing a rigid support.

Means is provided forming a foldable connection between the socket member and the leg, and this comprises a cross pin 3| preferably having a head 32 and a threaded shank 34 adapted to receive a threaded wing nut 36. The pin 3i passes through a round hole formed in the upper portion of the leg 26 at a predetermined point thereof selected to accomplish the objects hereinafter described.

The opposed plates 4 and It constituting the socket in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive are provided with registering slots, each slot comprising a relatively shorter portion 48 merging into and joining with an angularly disposed portion 42. The opposite plate is likewise provided with a similarly shaped and arranged slot. In Figs. 1 to '7 the shorter upper portion ii! of the slot is disposed vertically with respect to the socket plates 4 and I9, whereas the branch portion of the slot #2 is disposed at an acute angle thereto and, as shown in Fig. 1, branches to the right. The lower branch 52 is longer than the branch -46 and the arrangement is such with respect to the length of the branches it and 42 so that when the cross pin which slides in these joined together slots into parallelism with the under side of the table 2 and substantially abutting or abutting the same. In this position it is readily seen that the leg 23 will be locked in position since if the leg 2!} tends to pivot about the pin 3|, it will be restrained by the engagement of the top portion of the elongated side of the leg 26 with the under surface of the table top and/or by the engagement of the upper surface or edge 39 of the leg 26 with the flanges 8 and M of the plates and it. Now, in this position by pulling down upon the table leg 23, the pin will ride downwardly along the slot 48 and will thence ride along the angularly disposed portion of the slot 42 until it comes to the end it of said portion. In this position the leg 25 will be shifted away from the under side of the table 2 in the position shown in Fig. 5. In this position the leg 26 may now be shifted exactly right angles into the position shown Fig. 6. Thereafter the leg is then moved upwardly, the pin riding along the long slot portion 4-2 and thence into the shorter slot portion it until the pin 3! strikes the upper end 43 of the slot This corresponds to a position such that upper edge 33 of the leg contacts or substaneither in extended right angular position with respect to the table top or in folded adjacent position with respect to the table top.

In Figs. 8 and 9 the invention is shown with modified slots wherein the shorter branch 46 of the slot lies parallel to the under side of the table top, the longer branch 48 of the slot occupying the same angular position as did the slot portion d2 in Figs. 4 to 7 inclusive. This modification of the invention is otherwise similar to the form shown in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, and operates in the same manner generally speaking.

The sleeve or bracket may be formed of one single piece of material if desired instead of Iorm ing the same of separable halves.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination, a bracket having a pair of spaced apart vertically disposed side plates havupper horizontal edges and vertically disposed end edges, means providing an end wall between adjacent vertical edges of said side plates for closing one end of the bracket with the opposite end of the bracket being completely open, a. pair of flanges extending substantially horizontally outwardly from said upper edges of the side plates for mounting the bracket to the under surface of a support, such as a table top, said flanges having er surfaces disposed in a common plane, a

ing a substantially fiat upper end and an upper end portion disposed between ho. said side plates, said side plates having registering elongated slots of uniform width therein, which slots have an upper portion disposed genor ly parallel with an edge of the side plates and ing a diameter substantially equal to said unitially fiushly contacts the under side of the table.

this position, if desired, the wing nut 36 may be tightened whereby to prevent any inadvertent downward movement of the table top should any wear occur in the slot member.

It is to be understood that in either position the wing nut may be tightened to hold the leg This applies to all four of the legs, and s :1

form width of the slots, said pin extending through the upper portion of said leg with end portions of the pin slidably disposed in the slots, pin being located in said leg so that the pin 1' posed distances substantially equal to said prede rmined distance from the upper substantially end and opposite longitudinal side edges the leg so that said leg may be disposed in an open vertical position with said substantially flat up er end in said common plane and one of said longitudinal side edges abutting said end wall, and said being movable to a folded position with said substantially flat end of the leg in engagement with said end wall, and the other of said longitudinal edges of the leg having a portion between said substantially fiat end and the pin dis sed in said common plane for locking the leg in the folded position.

2. A combination, as defined in claim 1, wherein said first mentioned portions of said slots are disposed substantially parallel to the vertical edges of said side plates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 930,793 Phelps Aug. 10, 1909 1,039,868 Whitney Oct. 1, 1912 (Other references on following page) Number 5 v UNITED STATES PATENT Name Date Erdman Dec. 15, 1914 Thiede Oct. 18, 1927 a Harman Apr. 25, 1933 OKane et a1. May 16, 1933 Wilson Dec. 5, 1933 Mitchell June 4, 1935 D111 Dec. 21, 1937 10 Number Number Name Date Ralson May 28, 1940 Wigell Jan. 7, 1941 Burr Apr. 5, 1949 Shefierr July 3, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Australia Mar. 16, 1928 

